Europe, World Shocked Over U.S. Violence
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) — Protestors in Europe and other countries have joined demonstrators in the United States to express outrage over the death of George Floyd. The unarmed black man died in the U.S. city of Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck until he stopped breathing.
Nations around the world watched in horror at the six days of civil unrest following Floyd’s death on May 25 in the United States. The looting and riots overshadowed more peaceful protests against police abuse. However, thousands gathered in central London on Sunday to offer support for American demonstrators.
The protestors were chanting slogans against police abuse towards black people. They ignored British government rules banning crowds because of the coronavirus pandemic. Police didn’t stop them.
Demonstrators then marched to the U.S. Embassy, where a long line of officers surrounded the building.
Elsewhere in Europe, protestors in Denmark also converged on the U.S. Embassy on Sunday. Participants carried placards with messages such as “Stop Killing Black People.”
In Germany, the U.S. Embassy in Berlin was the scene of protests on Saturday under the motto: “Justice for George Floyd.” Several hundred more people took to the streets Sunday in the German capital’s Kreuzberg area, carrying signs with slogans like “Silence is Violence,” “Hold Cops Accountable,” and “Who Do You Call When Police Murder?”
In countries with authoritarian governments, state-controlled media focused on the chaos and violence of the U.S. demonstrations, to undermine American officials’ criticism of their nations.
In China, the protests are being viewed after the U.S. government criticism of China’s crackdown on anti-government protests in Hong Kong. In Iran, which violently put down nationwide demonstrations by killing hundreds, arresting thousands, and disrupting internet access to the outside world, state television has repeatedly aired images of the U.S. unrest.
And Russia accused the United States of “systemic problems in the human rights sphere.‘’
There also have been expressions of solidarity with the demonstrators.
Over the weekend, Lebanese anti-government protesters flooded social media on social networking site Twitter with sympathetic messages to U.S. protesters. And in Israel, about 150 people marched through central Jerusalem, expressing support for U.S. protestors. They also highlighted alleged police abuse in Israel after the shooting death by Israeli police of an unarmed, autistic Palestinian man earlier on Saturday.
Israeli police mistakenly suspected that the man, Iyad Halak, was carrying a weapon. When he failed to obey orders to stop, officers reportedly opened fire.
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